My second “Philosophy for Children” lesson
We just had our second “Philosophy for Children” structured lesson.
We sat in the same classroom as a week ago, the lesson was handled in the same format: Reading a text describing a dilemma and conversing about it.
This time, I only got one “I don’t know answer” which I immediately annulled. I specifically asked the students not to use this answer because it doesn’t support a conversation, but rather eliminates it.
We read a story about a girl who arrives at a carnival with her father who has forgotten his wallet at home. The girl is asked by her father to lie about her age so that they could get in and ride the rides, rather than just watch the parade. The question the students were presents with is whether they would lie.
The instinctive answer was, of course, “no”. I then challenged this assumption and a discussion arose about whether it is OK to lie to a business owner in order to get his services/products for free or for a discount. The students arrived at the conclusion that lying is worse for the liar than for the person being lied to because it “makes him feel bad inside”, which is a response I have accepted because it is the recreation of the answer I was looking for (that lying diminishes the liar’s value) in the students’ own words.
We still have the problem of answers that are too immediate and are not well thought of. I tried having the students think about the answers they give before they give them but to no avail, they just seemed eager to express their views.
To correct that, I am going to bring a timer for the next lesson, and have them wait at least 20 seconds before they response to my question. Hopefully, they will be thinking about their answer during these 20 seconds of silence.
The inadequacy of the system
It seems that there is a serious shortage of English teachers. There are very good reasons for that: Classes are overcrowded, pupils list respect for their teachers (did they have it at some point?), kids are misplaced in the wrong schools and in the wrong classes. I am stuck right smack in the midst of all this, as a new teacher that has been given some pretty tough classes to teach.
This is my first year teaching English and I was given 5 classes, all of which can be considered the lowest level of classes that no other teacher wanted to take. One teacher felt sorry for me and tool away one of my classes in exchange for hers, which is a normal class. This one is my only good class. The others are the castaways. The pupils no one wants to teach.
Some have awful, awful families who do not support and even neglect them. They are miserable. Others have families that think they know it all and support the kid no matter what he does at school, so obviously the kid thinks he’s the king of the world and the teacher means squat to him. And others yet are most troubled of the bunch – these are the kids with the mental problems that should be treated by a psychiatrist. Sometimes they do see one and sometime they don’t.
How is a first year teacher suppose to handle such kids? They cannot take care of themselves, they cannot control themselves, the teacher can’t – and shouldn’t – control them. Some other solution must be found.
My first “Philosophy for Children” lesson
Today was my first class structured according to the “philosophy for children” theory.
After not being able to get a response from anyone who works with this system where I live, I decided to take things into my own hands and downloaded this form from the internet.
I have decided to let the students read the actual English text after which we would discuss what we’ve read in our mother tongue. Discussing the whole subject in English would have impeded the thought process and we would not have managed to conduct the nice discussion that we did, and that is, after all what the whole theory is about: having a discussion that would enrich the students’ analytical abilities.
I had two students (that’s how refer to pupils). We sat in an abandoned classroom, the three of us around one table, and read a few lines from the text. It described a hypothetical situation in which the reader’s sister is very sick and she could be saved if a medicine could be researched on one thousand kittens, which would of course die from this treatment.
A debate arose between me and the students, in which I asked them about the text and whose life they would spare, and then continuously questioned them no matter what they answered. I tried to make them think of their answers and truly feel the essence of the dilemma they were faced with.
This was our first weekly session. The most dominant answer I got was “I don’t know”, and the students kept coming up with one hasty response after another, without actually thinking about their responses first. These are the two things I will try to change as a beginning: Have them think of their answers and have them avoid using “I don’t know” as much as possible.
The story next week will be a bit longer and will be about friendship. I plan to gradually increase the length of the text that they’d have to read, while still trying to keep enough time for a debate. Maybe we will even prolong the lesson to fit everything in.
Student Laptops
In this blog I also intend to cover mobile computing devices which I think are suitable for students. First, let’s define what students need:
1. First and foremost: Price. Devices should be as cheap as possible. Given all other properties this variable should be the lowest. The Asus Eee is sold for about 300$, so this will be the benchmark I will be looking for in all other devices I cover.
2. Portability. I used to think that a student could sacrifice screen size, long battery life and keyboard size for portability. I used to think the Asus Eee is the perfect computer but then I got the idea of computer bags. With a trolley computer bag, you don’t need to sacrifice any of those, you can take your 4Kg computer plus a few more 4Kg books wherever you go. Of course that is very subjective and also depends upon your mobility options. I think such a trolley on a bus would be a bit tiring after a while. Basically, it’s up to you. I have chosen to carry my computer on two wheels and not on my bag, so give me a lot more freedom – weight wise.
3. Processing power. This one could also be downgraded to the minimum. A typical student would need to surf the web comfortably, he or she would need to type in documents on a word processor and maybe listen to music to drown out surrounding noises. No video is necessary, no heavy games and obviously no processing demanding graphic software. If your needs exceed those described here, then this entire list is probably not for you. I haven’t used those new Atom processors but they do sound adequate enough. I would even go for a MIPS processor; these are also strong enough to run a browser and a word processor.
4. Screen size. I have found that a big screen does encourage learning, reading and writing. It’s hard concentrating over a written text with a small screen and when you write you need to see as much as possible of what you’ve already written. Therefore, a screen size is a crucial factor and bigger screens should be preferred. I am using a 14 inch screen, the MSI Wind has a 10 inch screen and the Eee has only 7 inch, therefore my preference is obvious.
5. Connectivity. It could be great if we had WIFI everywhere, but where I live we don’t. Sometimes, I do want to use my cell phone as a cellular modem and for that I need to connect it via USB or Bluetooth (either an onboard device or a USB dongle). So Bluetooth capabilities are a perk yet are not necessary, because most classrooms now have WIFI connectivity. Therefore WIFI is a must, while Bluetooth is not.
6. Keyboard. Typing for long periods of time on a small keyboard can drive you nuts, so you need a mini USB keyboard to shove into your bag, or better yet – Get a computer with a full size keyboard (not the Eee).
I will hopefully write about the Fujitsu Siemens Esprimo Series soon, as these are the best student laptops I know of right now.
A collection of posts from an older attempt at blogging
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
What to write about?
I have the urge to write. But to write what? Is writing something that no one other than myself wants to read constitutes worthy writing? I’m not sure.
This blog is an example. I’m writing my thoughts here yet I know that no one will read them and it makes me feel that I am solely writing for the sake of writing. It does have some spiritual benefits yet I am, ultimately, writing to myself.
I might choose to stop In favor of better writing avenues.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
What’s in a word?
It seems that everyday life is so arduous that we are constantly at a risk of losing ourselves. You have to work to feed your family and yourself, you have to pay the mortgage/rent and you have to pay for your car. Instead of “have to pay” you can say that you “have to work”, and at work you don’t always get to do the thing you define yourself with but what you are required to do. Therefore, reality robs you of yourself.
It’s actually amazing that it is like this since technology has evolved to a point where we could, theoretically just work very few hours a day and have all of our needs met by sophisticated machines that’ll do the work for us. But then again, how would the boss get his Ferrari then ?
For me, every time I put a word down on paper (or on screen) it’s like a small victory. I define myself as a word loving person, at least, and every time I write a word it’s just one small victory, one small thing of me which I have consolidated on paper even though reality has been trying to take it away from me.
I find it comforting, knowing I can write where ever I am.
Computers
I find it very gratifying staying up to date with the latest technological advancements in the field of mobile computing. These things are amazing. They let you connect to the internet from where ever you are, write whatever you want where ever you are, listen to music and online radio, watch movies and online TV, while connecting in various wonderful wireless ways. The new fetish is the MSI Wind, which replaced the Asus Eee PC. It’s a 1.6 Ghz laptop weighing at 1.2 KG. Just amazing. Buying one right now would be foolish since I don’t have the money and there is going to be a new one on the market pretty soon. One which will be better and lighter and most importantly – Cheaper.
I’ve started running again and it feels really good. I don’t know why I haven’t done it earlier. The surge of endorphins is great and it really makes me feel better after the hectic week. Next week will be better, that will be the first week really working at the science museum.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Classrooms
Classrooms have a kind of magic to them. Not only because it’s the place where knowledge is inferred but also because they are places where knowledge is created through debate and dialectics.
I saw a classroom today. It was beautiful with its wooden chairs arranged in an ascending form so all the students could see the lecturer, with its snug chairs and designated pen and ink places. It was beautiful, simple and just amazing. It is a sin that that classroom is not used more often and I do wish I could do something with it. Heck, I wished I owned it.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Maimonides and I
It seems that prayer may not be just strictly a method of communicating to God. It seem that there exists a different meaning to it, one in which contemplation is involved and used to find out about our knowledge regarding the existence of god, or rather his mode of existence – How does he exists?
I have been reading a bit about Maimonides, who was a Jewish philosopher in 12th century Spain. He has constructed a philosophy pertaining to the nature of God and how we can speak of it. He has done through prayers and religious essays. His works are just amazing.
This is one thing that science is absolutely inadequate at doing. Science, with its formulas and equations, with its experiments and peer reviews publications, has insufficient methods for the investigation of the divine. God, you could say, is not defined scientifically and hence cannot be spoken of in scientific terms.
I’m emerging from a really long anxiety attack. It lasted for five days. I think I need to go get some happy pills (anti-anxiety medication), for relaxing by myself is difficult. This world is so stressful! If you don’t achieve, you don’t exist in your own eyes. If you achieve, you lose your own self and become a working drone with no inner world. This thing has to be resolved now, when I am still choosing my path in life.
Monday, July 7, 2008
I’m running away
It feels like I’m always running away from Capitalism. I try to avoid job where I need to sell something to someone, and I try to get involved in project with as much content as possible, something I believe in and not something in which I make people think they need something I have when in fact I don’t even need it.
I’m starting to work at a science museum. The pay is lousy and I still need to promote the museum as a spare time activity. Of course, for now I still believe in what is displayed at the museum and I see them as worthy exhibits, but even in the short introduction we’ve had today the guide spoke of the museum as an entity that has to compete with other pass time activities for customers.
There was one room, in the museum, which really touch me on a deeper level. The museum is located in the oldest educational building in Israel – a building which used to serve a big university. It has one room which is preserved as a historical classroom. It is amazing! I truly hope I will get to do some homework on its wooden benches, pretending there is a lively philosophical debate taking place. If I’m consistent and lucky, they might even let me use the room as truly a classroom, maybe I will be able to teach philosophy in there.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
“Breaking the spell”
I’m watching this movie portraying the riots in Seattle, in 1999, centered around the WTO meeting.
The movie shows a lot of police brutality against demonstrators who think that staying there, getting their skulls smashed in by batons and the corneas burnt by tear gas is the way to bring down the huge corporations who dominate our lives.
Guess what, boys and girls, these men are armed with the best weapons and armament that your money can buy. Trying to resist them or to attack them headfirst is just plain stupidity. It is not bravery, since these tactics do not accomplish the goals you’ve set for yourselves.
The way to take down those men is simple: Take away their food so they will be hungry, Take away their power so they will be cold. And most importantly – take away their faith, so they will be scared.
Hierarchies
Hierarchy, it seems, is deeply rooted in our society.
You see it everywhere: In the army, in workplaces, in your household, in classrooms, everywhere.
People say it creates order, yet order can be achieved without it as well. You don’t need a boss, you need a work coordinator (this is actually what the Argentinean fabricas recuperadas have). Nominating a boss is just giving a human undue power and authority which it will only be too easy for him to abuse.
So how do you avoid being just another link in the hierarchical “chain of command”?
Either you find a way to work in a cooperative business or you somehow avoid or reduce your dependency on businesses who rely on a fixed and abusive hierarchy for their operation (such as most of the capitalistic financial businesses).
CrimethINC have written some interesting essays about this in their book “Days of war, nights of love”. Some of the essays are available on their beautifully constructed site: www.crimethinc.com
The best option would just be to reorganize in groups. Each group would have their own business, while the economy between the groups can be performed as a gift economy. Only this way can the people’s true creativity be set free.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
The little book store
The first time I was introduced to a revolutionary idea was a few years ago. I used to visit my uncle and we used to sit at a coffee shop near his house. Next to this coffee shop there was a small store selling office supplies and newspapers and also some used books. The owner of the store has been there for 40 years, he a nice old man named Harry who came to Israel from South Africa 40 years ago.
One afternoon, I was sitting with my uncle, drinking coffee at that place. It was winter and very cold and wet. It was raining and when it was time to go home, I stayed a few more minutes at the book store, waiting for the rain to stop.
I was looking through the books on the shelf and a small book caught my eyes. A very thin, almost booklet like book. It was called “Why you should be a socialist” by John Starchey. This book was written in the thirties in England and made it all the way to Israel 70 years later. I bought it for 4 shekels and read it on my way home.
I was fascinated by the reasoning the book presented as to why one should believe in joint custody of the means of production. I am not a socialist today and I do not believe in a centralized government controlling the means of production, but that book did change my life.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Why piracy is not a crime
I think I’ve already concluded on this blog that, in my opinion, greed is a sin.
I think walking around showing off all the gold you have might be legal – But is a sin.
I think driving a Jaguar knowing that not everyone can afford it and thus feeling special because of it – Is a sin.
Now, if you don’t believe in sins because of their religious connotation, then that’s a whole different discussion, one which I will not address right now, since I am merely stating my opinion.
I use this logic when I think of artists, also. If someone creates something with the pure intention of just creating something, he shouldn’t expect to get rich by selling it to millions, that would also constitute as a greedy act.
Therefore, forcing someone to rely on limited revenues obtained from an artistic creation, or to change it’s way of distribution so as to allow people to use it for free even though the creator might be earning something – That would not be greedy. But asking people to pay for a book, a movie, or a software just so the creator(s) can become rich, that’s greed.
Thus, I conclude by stating that software piracy in itself is illegal, but is ethically correct since it inhibits the spread of greed and keeps that arts pure and out of the hands of those who just use it as an instrument by which they can get rich.
Philosophy at Tel Aviv, or lack thereof
There’s an article in the online paper today about the faculty of humanities at the university of Tel Aviv threatening not to accept new students next year because of the 2 million NIS budget cut they have to withstand.
This is actually the faculty I was hoping on having my PhD in. How can I expect to have a PhD now in such a university, which obviously doesn’t understand the importance of such a faculty? How can I have a PhD in such a country, for that matter, which obviously doesn’t allow people to grow in their chosen profession, if that profession is not considered productive, or in other words – ones which makes them money?
I wonder how it’s like in other universities around the world, where there is no fighting, where the country doesn’t have to invest billions each year in its own survival. I guess these people would now be considered the “People of the book”, rather than the Israeli Jews who have changed quite considerably over the past 60 years.
Slavery (again)
It is possible that the Greek philosophers were able to devote such a substantial part of their lives to philosophy because they had slaves? These slaves, that were considered their property, did everything for them, probably including making money or whatever finances they needed to live their lives and do… Well, philosophy.
Maybe the low esteem philosophy has these days as an academic subject is because we don’t have slaves. Rather, we are slaves. We need to worry about what we will eat tomorrow so naturally no one can start to philosophize as much as he wants because they all need to fulfill their duty as slaves for someone else who might as well be doing philosophy, if he wants.
Can we truly minimize consumption and thus avoid this enslaving trend? I sure am going to try.
I think technology can actually help us with that: It might make us become less dependent upon others and more self sufficient. Of course not every technology will do and it’ll have to be designed for that, but that is possible, after all.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Imagine a world…
Imagine a world where you can get everything for cheap.
Where you can afford everything you want because it’s just dirt cheap.
Technology has made it easy for us to have abundant resources of all kinds: from food to clothing, from computers to books, everything.
So why is everything so damn expensive?
If we can grow genetically engineered wheat anywhere we want and in vast amounts, why isn’t bread cheaper? If we can grow rice in huge rice fields, why is it so expensive? If we can make electric cars for x dollars, why are they sold for 10 times that?
It’s all because of a little word called greed. Some people just want more money and more money, thus not letting this utopic condition of Ashash to be made reality. We need to work too much to buy these things, so we can’t say that technology has actually improved our life.
I can imagine a world where all of our needs are supplied by technology in abundance and there is no hunger or need, and all that with much fewer working hours than we must invest today. Such a world is unattainable, though, until the sin of greed can be overcome.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Freedom of thought
Our perception of reality is governed by our thought, this bit is already a well known fact. But what mechanisms generate these thoughts?
It might be some kind of interaction with our environment, but then again, this interaction is also governed by our thoughts. So there must be an entity external to us which actually produces these thoughts. Is that a response to the solipsist idea?
If we can assume that these thoughts are generated by fellow humans in a process of dialectical exchange with people who exist each in his own world, then all of our thoughts are generated by outside sources for there cannot be any internal sources producing ideas but maybe just combining them into new ones. Would the formation of an original thought constitute a violation of the law of conservation of energy or information?
In other words, how is an original thought even formed and can it even be possible that such a thought creating mechanism exists ? If not, then once again we are left with the conclusion that there might be something sentient out there which is external to humans and their interactive mediums.
It can also be assumed that at some point, a first original thought existed.
In what form did it exist?
What was it about?
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Consumerism
I have recently noticed that most of the things
I used to buy are ultimately useless for me. I now consciously try to minimize my expenditures and this way I am actually managing to earn a wee bit more than what I spend. It is a blessed position to be in. Now I still want a few things I don’t really need but I use more discretion in deciding whether to buy them or not, and I am also more aware of the demonic commercials that are trying to influence me into submitting to wage slavery.
Mobile shiny object (or black, or whatever color)
I love mobile computing.
I love being able to pop open a UMPC on the train or at work (don’t tell my employer) and just start typing away.
Of course the also like it when these things cost pennies and not most of the machines that are currently sold that can do this and that and everything else but make coffee. I wish the computer manufacturers would do some survey and decide what the minimum requirements are for students, pupils, businessmen, etc – And then produce computers designed especially for them with the minimum capabilities so as to drastically reduce the unit price. Come on, the wonderful Asus Eee does not cost 300 USD to manufacture, I bet it doesn’t even cost 30 USD per unit. I know they’re trying to make money but greed is a sin, remember?
Ohh, well…
Fabricas Recuperadas
An interesting idea is spawning in Argentina. The so called “Recuperated Factories” are factories run by their own workers in a democratic fashion. No Bosses (other than work coordinators, I guess), no capital owners. If you think about it, it’s like getting tenure from you first day on the job!
I wish I could be a part of such an endeavour. Yet it seems the only factory who ever functioned in such a way in Israel closed down many years ago and there are no buds of a similar nature anywhere.
Since my fiance is originally from Argentina, we are contemplating moving there, but that will not get me into such a factory, it will only get me closer to one.
With the growing menace of Iran’s missiles, that seems more and more like a good alternative.
My first post
People say that an accomplished writer is not one who has been published, nor one whose books have seen a top seller chart – But just someone who regards his writing very seriously and that is persistent in producing written work. Well, here I am. I want to be a writer.
In this blog I will try to just write. There is no explicit topic or subject. Just trying to build the habit of writing and see where it gets me. I guess my posts will cover subjects as diverse as politics, philosophy, maybe even poetry. Who knows?
Living in Israel can make you think about various things: The meaning of waking up every morning, the existence of God, was Robert Nozick correct and should I follow his ideas, what makes soccer so attractive, etc. It all comes to you in various parts of the day when you are very tired and have no patience to concentrate upon some blog entry, which in other words means your life is suffocating your writing.
I hope not to let that happen. Let’s see how well I do.
The poor man’s fountain pen
Pencils are the poor man’s fountain pens. Some of them write as well, if not better, than some good fountain pens. They are cheap (the most expensive pencils I have costs about 1.5 Euro each) and give you a distinct pleasure while writing with them that you will not get while writing with a fountain pen. They never smudge, never leak, don’t need to be refilled and you can buy them bulk so you’ll never run out.
Pencils are beautiful. They come in various shapes, colors, sizes and widths. They make wonderful collection items if you are careful not to collect ALL the pencils that you can find, for then you end up with many that reduce the overall quality of your collection.
I collect only quality pencils. I look for them according to brands, and the leading brands that I have are: Faber Castell, California Republic, Dixon, Staedtler, Lyra, Jerusalem Pencils, Papermate, Stabilo.
My favorite pencils in descending quality are:
1. Faber Castel Jumbo Grip.
2. California Republic Palomino.
3. Dixon Tri-conderoga.
4. California Republic ForestChoice.
5. Staedtler Noris Club Triplus Jumbo.
A good blog to draw information from is PencilRevolution. I think this one got me interested in pencils in the first place.
Three wonderful books for independent scholars
I am currently reading a wonderful book called “The craft of research” by Booth, Colomb and Williams. Published by the university of Chicago press, 1995. It seems to be a good book to structure your research by, should you decide (as I did) that independent scholarship is the way to go.
The book explains about the process of conducting research, from the information gathering stage, through the research question definition stage, all the way to the writing and publishing of your research.
Another good book is The Independent Scholar’s Handbook by Ronald Gross. This one gives some valuable inspiration for those aspiring to be independent scholars, along with a good description of such a scholar’s life and work. This book is freely published here.
A third book is “Uses of blogs”. This book is an anthology of blog related articles, two of which deal with blogs as research tools and blogs facilitating communication among scholars. It is truly inspiring to read about the potential that you’ve felt is there all along.
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